OPN Speakers Bureau Orientation & Training

 

Week 3 Lesson Research for Credible Evidence

 

 

Once you know your purpose, topic and tentative main points (see week 2’s lesson), you are ready to research for credible evidence.  To help you through this research process, this week’s lesson covers:

·        Brainstorming what you know

·        Identifying your research goals

·        Using effective search methods

·        Finding library and web resources

·        Evaluating the best evidence

 

We closed week 2 by looking at Aristotle’s tools of persuasion.  How might emotion, logic and credibility apply to research?  Credibility comes from your experience and your sources.  Emotion may come from your personal experience or other compelling stories.  Logic depends on strong reasoning and evidence.  So keep these persuasive tools in mind while you research for ideas. 

 

Before you look for credible sources, start by assessing what you already know about your topic and tentative main points.

 

 

Brainstorm What You Already Know

 

Your own experience is a valuable tool in speech building.  As noted in last week’s lesson, speaker experience is a large part of credibility.  So if you are saying to yourself, “I don’t have any experience with this topic” then consider revising your topic. 

 

Assuming that you do have some experience with the topic, then start your information gathering by listing what you already know.  I’m guessing that most of you have already heard of the “brainstorming” process.  Just to be sure, let’s go over the brainstorming rules:

·        Quantity of ideas is stressed over quality

·        Every idea gets recorded – no censorship

·        Keep adding to the list until every idea has been listed

·        Try to add even more ideas

 

Only after you are completely tapped out of ideas should you review your list and:

·        Eliminate ideas that are obviously not useful

·        Combine entries that represent the same information

·        Select the most useful ideas

 

The brainstorming method works great in teams.  You can get together with a group of informed friends, such as your speaking team, and use flip charts to post ideas around the walls.  All the visual reinforcement helps promote creativity.  Teams could also set up a PalTalk session.

 

If you don’t have the advantages of a room full of thinkers, you can brainstorm by yourself.  I recommend you keep your list with you for days, so you can keep adding ideas.  You can talk to experts you know and add their ideas to your list.

 

One last point about personal experience…Never under estimate the power of your story.  Stories grab the audience’s interest.  Stories engage your listeners’ emotions.  Personal stories can strengthen your credibility.

 

 

Identify Your Research Goals

 

Before you hit the stacks or the information highway, decide what you want to find.  Clarifying your research goals will help you:

·        Target what you are looking for

·        Find what you need in less time

·        Know when to stop searching

 

Defining your research goals is easy.  All you need to do is list what you are looking for.  You could be searching for

·        Information to fill in what you don’t know

·        Evidence that supports what you already know

·        Sources that will satisfy your audience

 

When creating your list, be as specific as possible.  For example, your list might include:  1) History of affirmative defense clause in Ohio, 2) List of states that use MMJ registration cards, 3) GAO study about enforcement of MMJ bills, 4) Study that debunks “gateway theory”, etc. 

 

Make sure you obtain enough credible evidence to satisfy your purpose, topic, and main points. 

 

 

Use Effective Search Methods

 

Whether you are searching library or internet resources, keep the following search strategies in mind.

 

·        Search for distinctive key words – Avoid empty words like a, the, in, etc.

 

·        Use limiting categories – If your first attempt brings up too many matches to count, try adding more limits to the search.  For example, many tools allow you to specify an additional key word or range of dates.

 

·        Use multiple search tools – Since each tool references different sources and information, search for your key words using more than one journal index or web search engine.

 

·        Get familiar with the “default” settings of each search tool – Learn what features you can change and what will happen if you don’t specify.

 

·        Use wildcard characters – Some search tools offer the option of wildcard characters (sometimes it’s the # or * key).  You can use wildcards to help you find variations of the same root word (e.g. cannabi* would match cannabis, cannabinoid, etc.)

 

·        Use “quotation marks” – If you want to find exact phrase matches, such as “medical marijuana”, enclose the words in quotation marks.

 

·        Use lower case letters – Some search tools are sensitive to upper case, and some are not.  If you aren’t sure, then search using all lower case letters.

 

·        Combine ideas using and / or – Use “and” to combine terms, such as: marijuana and research.  Use “or” when two words have the same meaning, for example: marijuana or cannabis.  For maximum results, combine these strategies.  For example, searching for marijuana or cannabis and research, will match entries with marijuana research and cannabis research.

 

·        Be patient – If you are not able to find something, try different search tools and key words.  Try again another time.  Ask for help from librarians or MMJ experts. 

 

 

Find Library and Web Resources

 

Once you know what you are looking for and have some methods to search, you are ready to get your research started.  While the internet is an often used source of information, let’s remember the library, too.

 

 

LIBRARY RESEARCH

 

Public libraries usually don’t have the most extensive collection of pro-marijuana books.  (If this is true in your community, you might try donating a good book or two.)  So if you are looking for books, videotapes, etc., try a friendly bookstore or your friend’s collection.

 

On the other hand good research libraries will subscribe to peer-edited journals that may report research about MMJ.  Here’s a word of caution about journals:  Since they are geared toward a scholarly and scientific audience, they are usually a challenge to read.  However, journals are considered highly credible sources, so do check them out.

 

Most of the best research libraries in the state are at universities.  Luckily, through OhioLink, you can access the catalogs of every state college and university.  But you may know that a library catalog only tells you what journals they own, not what’s in the journals. 

 

To search for journal articles, you’ll find dozens, if not hundreds, of electronic indexes.  Each of the indexes, which are also called databases, references a different set of journals.  Many indexes can offer links to the full text of journal articles.  For a good explanation of the difference between internet sources and OhioLink databases see http://www.ohiolink.edu/help/ol-vs-net.html.

 

 

INTERNET RESEARCH

 

Because anyone can post their message, the internet is a friend of democracy.  But for the same reason, the credibility of internet sources is questionable.  So the challenge of internet research is not whether you can find information, it’s whether you can find CREDIBLE information.

 

We’ll talk more about assessing the best sources in the next section.  For now, keep in mind that studies from our government, universities and nonpartisan organizations offer high credibility.

 

Most of us probably have a favorite search engine we like to use when looking for information on the web.  That’s good, but go further.  If you like Yahoo, try Google.  If you usually use MSN, try Northern Light.  Search the web using several tools and you’ll find different results.

 

You might have noticed that our speaker training main page has some research links.  One of my favorites is the Media Awareness Project.  MAP has archived more than 100,000 newspaper and magazine articles about drugs and drug policy. 

 

The training main page also has a link to OPN’s links page. You’ll find links to reform organizations, healthcare and political information and other useful sites.  Although a NORML or MPP article will only be credible to a limited audience, those articles usually link you to more scientific reports.

 

The third research link on our main page is to the OPN Newsletter.  Each newsletter has brief articles about recent events and provides links to more information.  Lots of important studies have been in the news recently.  For example, here’s some stories that appeared in OPNews since November 2002:

·        GAO studies found: 1) MMJ laws have little impact on law enforcement and 2) D.A.R.E. is ineffective

·        White House OMB: scored the DEA a 0 out of 100 for achieving results

·        Annenberg Public Policy Center: found that anti-marijuana public service announcements fostered pro drug beliefs

·        RAND: study debunked the marijuana “gateway theory”

 

 

Evaluate Your Research Material

 

Once your research really gets going, you’re likely to find a lot of information.  You can’t talk about everything in your speech, so choosing the best evidence in an important next step.

 

When you decide what you will and won’t use in your speech, focus first and foremost on your purpose and audience.  Pick the material that satisfies your purpose the best.  Select information that your audience will believe the most.

 

 

EVALUATE THE SOURCE OF YOUR INFORMATION

 

Choose the information that comes from the best source.  Good sources are considered authorities on the subject.  They have strong credentials and experience, and they are considered an expert in the subject.  For example, the New England Journal of Medicine and American Medical Association have well-respected reputations.

 

Effective sources are free of bias, or strong, partial views.  MPP and NORML are well respected within the reform community.  Outside our community, however, their support for marijuana makes them biased.  Commercial sources that try to sell us something are also biased.  Be skeptical of sources.  Generally, university research is considered nonbiased because, in theory at least, the researchers use methods that minimize bias.

 

Effective sources also state the methods that were used to gather, analyze and report their data.  Scientific polls, for example, depend on random sampling and non-biased questions.  In scientific experiments, researchers break participants into groups and test treatments under carefully controlled conditions.  If methods are suspect or not stated, look for a different source of information.

 

 

EVALUATE YOUR CONTENT

 

If the sources and methods of your evidence are credible, then choose your best evidence based on the following criteria:

 

·        Relevant – Choose evidence that supports your purpose the best.

·        Meaningful – Select information that your audience will best relate to.

·        Current – Choose the latest information.

·        Accurate – Pick evidence that is verified as fact.

 

What is a fact anyway?  A fact is a truth that is based on observation.  Others can observe and verify our “facts.” 

 

A statement sometimes gets passed along as a fact, even though it is just an inference.  An inference is a claim.  It is a prediction or conclusion that may or may not be true.  See if you can spot the difference in this simple exercise:

 

FACT VS. INFERENCE (Adapted from Verderber, 1994)   Imagine that you were standing on the sidewalk when:   Two people ran out of a bank with several large bundles, hopped into a long black car, and sped away.  Seconds later, a man rushed out of the bank, waving his arms and looking quite upset.    As you listen to two people discuss what they saw, you hear them say: 1. “The bank’s been robbed!” 2. “Yes, indeed – I saw the robbers hurry out of the bank, hop into a car, and speed away.” 3. “It was a long black car.” 4. “The men were carrying several large bundles.” 5. “Seconds after they left, a man came out of the bank after them – but he was too late, they’d already escaped.”   Based on what you have observed, which of the five statements above are facts (F) and which are inferences (I).

 

Take a minute to think about your answers to the five statements above.  Are they facts or inferences?  After you’ve written F or I next to each statement, read on…

 

If you said that, based on the limited information provided, only one of the statements was verifiable as fact, then you were right.  Only the third statement is a fact.  To say that the bank has been robbed is a guess.  To call the people robbers is a claim.  To say that the bundles were carried by men is uncertain.   Finally, to say that they were escaping or the man came out after them is also unproven.

 

So as a researcher, you’ll want to choose verifiable facts.  You’ll also need to be aware when anti-reform groups make claims about marijuana that are unproven or untrue.  You might plan to rebut these inferences in your speech.

 

 

In summary, the research step of the speech building process includes brainstorming what you already know, determining what you need to find, and using effective search methods to find internet and library resources.  Once you’ve collected your information, choose the best evidence based on source and content credibility.

 

Next week, we’ll organize all of our information into a speaking outline.  For now, complete this week’s activity, which will help you coordinate your evidence with other members of your speaking team.

 

Speaker Training Main Page     -     Bulletin Board Login     -     OPN Home Page